With legal battles ongoing, Christian sets sights on public office

Sunday

Jul 28, 2013 at 12:01 AMJul 28, 2013 at 11:21 AM

When Springfield Mayor Mike Houston announced at a late afternoon news conference July 19 that the city’s police chief and top attorney were stepping down amid a widening scandal over the destruction of police internal-affairs files, Calvin Christian III stood quietly at the back of the pack of reporters assembled in the mayor’s third-floor office.

Dan Petrella

When Springfield Mayor Mike Houston announced at a late afternoon news conference July 19 that the city’s police chief and top attorney were stepping down amid a widening scandal over the destruction of police internal-affairs files, Calvin Christian III stood quietly at the back of the pack of reporters assembled in the mayor’s third-floor office.

Christian’s presence went largely unnoted until a reporter turned to ask him for his reaction to the news of the day. At that point, the mayor called an end to his 12-minute meeting with the media.

“If it’s going to be his press conference, you can go outside and do that,” Houston said before walking away from the lectern.

Down in the lobby of Municipal Center East, Christian wasn’t quick to take credit for the shake-up at city hall, despite the fact that his April 11 Freedom of Information request for police records is widely seen as the catalyst for the chain reaction of events that culminated in Police Chief Robert Williams’ sudden retirement and the resignation of Mark Cullen, the city’s corporation counsel.

Christian was seeking the internal-affairs file of Deputy Chief Cliff Buscher, which contained details of a 2008 incident in Missouri during which the then-police commander fired his service weapon while drunk on a father-son fishing trip with other Springfield police officials. Buscher eventually pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor and was demoted before working his way back up to deputy chief.

Following Christian’s request, Williams — unbeknownst to the mayor or the city council — signed an agreement with the police union allowing internal-affairs records to be destroyed after four years instead of five. Williams ordered the records to be destroyed April 25, and city emails show Cullen gave the legal OK.

That day the department destroyed about 30 files, including Buscher’s, over objections from the department’s head of internal affairs. Christian was then told the city didn’t have the records he was seeking.

“Their actions are what caused the shake-up, their reactions in regards to my request,” Christian told reporters after the mayor’s news conference.

As those actions have faced increased scrutiny with more information coming to fore in recent weeks, Christian’s own actions also have drawn the spotlight.

He has been cited for more than 100 traffic violations since getting his driver’s license in 2007, with nearly all the tickets coming since 2010. Judges have issued warrants for his arrest on multiple occasions — including last week — after he has failed to show up for court dates on those cases.

Christian contends in a federal lawsuit filed in May that Springfield police have harassed him in retaliation for his efforts to make their internal-affairs records public. The city “is aggressively challenging Mr. Christian’s allegations,” said attorney Daniel Noll, who is representing the city in the case.

How one views Christian can serve as something of a Rorschach test: Is he a crusader for government transparency being targeted for his efforts, a young man who openly flouts traffic laws facing the consequences of his actions, or something in between?

Aspirations for office

The son of Beverly Christian and T.C. Christian Jr., Calvin grew up in Springfield near College and Laurel streets. He has a twin brother, Teddy Christian III.

His father is a well-known activist and publisher of the free monthly newspaper Pure News USA, which focuses on issues of importance to the black community.

The paper, which was honored at a state Black History Month celebration that then-Illinois Treasurer Judy Baar Topinka hosted in 2005, grew out of an organization T.C. Christian founded called People United for Rights and Equality.

The elder Christian has been a longtime critic of race relations within the Springfield Police Department and was spokesman for the Black Guardians Association, a group of black officers who argued that they were facing discrimination a decade ago.

T.C. Christian declined a request for an interview about his son, who has described himself in public and in Freedom of Information requests filed with the city as a reporter for Pure News USA. The father said he’s made it his practice not to speak with the media about his son.

Calvin Christian said his most recent story for the paper was published early this year. Pure News USA did not respond to a request for back issues.

Christian graduated from Springfield High School in 2008 after three years. While there, he developed an interest in website design through a before-school class that worked on the school website, he said. He has gone on to create websites for Pure News and for Union Baptist Church, where his family attends.

Despite his experience building websites, Christian continues to sidestep questions about his involvement in the website Springfield Leaks, which made the document destruction public the day after it occurred.

“I’m good friends with the people over at Springfield Leaks,” Christian said in an interview last week at the office of one of his attorneys.

Christian has taken online courses through St. Charles Community College in Missouri. He said he hopes to finish his bachelor’s degree in pre-law in the next few years and go on to law school.

“He’s ready to take the bar right now,” joked attorney John Myers, who has represented Christian in several lawsuits seeking police records from the city, referring to his client’s extensive experience with the courts.

Beyond that, Christian said he “most definitely” has his sights set on a run for public office, but he declined to go into specifics.

Chasing rabbits?

One of Christians’ first forays into the public arena was his effort last year to convince the city council to lower its $500 towing fine because of the financial burden it creates for some people when combined with the associated impounding and storage costs.

Ward 7 Ald. Joe McMenamin, who initiated the push for the reduction, said Christian served as “an effective spokesperson” in bringing the issue to the council’s attention. Ward 3 Ald. Doris Turner and Ward 5 Ald. Sam Cahnman sponsored the ordinance passed in February that cut the fine to $250 for first-time offenders.

“He was knowledgeable about many of the facts that were unknown to the general public,” such as the number of cars impounded each year and the number that go unclaimed, McMenamin said. “He’d obtained all of that information through Freedom of Information requests. He was very thorough, and he was tenacious.”

The Rev. T. Ray McJunkins, senior pastor of Union Baptist, said he has known the Christians since they joined the church about a decade ago.

McJunkins said Calvin, who went to school with his daughter, is “a very sharp” and “very impressive individual.”

Despite that, McJunkins, who also is an activist through the Faith Coaltion for the Common Good, said he hasn’t gotten on the bandwagon with Christian’s efforts on the towing fee or the issues with the police department because he feels there are more pressing concerns in the community, such as unemployment and the lack of development on the city’s east side. Christian hasn’t approached him for support, he added.

“I say to anybody in Springfield, whether it’s Calvin or anybody else, ‘Why are you chasing the rabbit?’ ” McJunkins said, adding that he calls it “chasing rabbits … because you’ll never catch them.”

Christian said he is proud of the good his parents have done for the community and he is very aware of the fact that his actions reflect upon them as well.

“Whether I’m in public office or a private citizen, I always want to be proud of my name,” he said. “When I shake hands, (I’m) not just Calvin, but Calvin Christian, so they know that I come from a good family.”

Legal battles

Christian’s name makes frequent appearances on the dockets of the Sangamon County Circuit Court.

The most serious charge he currently faces is obstructing a police officer, a misdemeanor.

Christian was sitting in a parked black 2013 Hyundai Sonata on Oct. 22 in a no parking zone on Greentree Road near Southeast High School, according to a police report. He allegedly refused to comply with an officer’s request to move the car, and the report says he and his two female passengers were laughing and joking throughout the incident.

The officer showed Christian his Taser, and he eventually stepped out of the vehicle and was arrested, according to the report. In addition to the obstruction charge, he was cited for not having a valid driver’s license and for improper parking on a roadway.

Christian and his passengers apparently weren’t the only ones laughing. A police chat log from the incident shows one officer wrote, “mitchell just arrested calvin christain,” and another replied, “hahaha.”

Those are just three of the more than 100 cases Christian has had in the county court system since 2007, including nearly 30 citations for driving without a license and others for speeding, blowing stop signs and reckless driving, according to court records.

Roughly a third of the cases have been dismissed, some as part of plea agreements. Christian has been found guilty by a judge or jury or pleaded guilty in about another third of the cases. The remaining cases are still pending.

There currently are two suspensions on Christian’s license, according to the Illinois secretary of state’s office. One through June 30, 2014, for driving without a license, and one through Aug. 30, 2014, for having three moving violations in a 12-month period.

In the federal lawsuit, Christian contends that the frequent traffic stops and citations are in retaliation for a lawsuit he filed on July 30, 2010, seeking police disciplinary files. The misdemeanor charge and 90 traffic citations have come since that date.

Noll, the attorney representing the city, said he could not comment on the timing of the citations.
“That’s something that’s all going to come out in the discovery,” he said.

In a motion to dismiss the lawsuit, the city contends that Christian “makes allegations which are contradictory to reality and with no factual support.”

‘He’s on the radar’

Sangamon County State’s Attorney John Milhiser said, speaking for his office, that Christian “is not being treated differently than anybody else.”

“He has a large number of cases, and we’re handling those cases,” Milhiser said.

Attorney Mark Wykoff, who is representing Christian in the misdemeanor and some of his traffic cases but not the federal lawsuit, said he thinks it’s clear that he has drawn attention to himself because he has “zealously exercised his First Amendment rights.”

“I think it’s quite obvious that he’s on the radar,” Wykoff said. “They’re more mindful of him, and it’s easier for their attention to be drawn to him. Once that happens, I don’t think he receives the benefit of any doubt.”

Wykoff added that he was “not alleging any malicious intent” on the part of Springfield police.

He said he would advise any client with a suspended license not to drive until it is reinstated.

As for his client missing court dates, Wykoff credits the “litany of matters pending” before the courts.
“Common sense dictates that if you have that many matters pending, there’s a higher degree of probability that you might miss a court date,” he said.

Christian has succeeded in two of his three Sangamon County lawsuits seeking the release of police records. Two judges have ruled separately that the city must release the records, with the most recent decision coming earlier this month. A third judge denied the city’s motion to dismiss a lawsuit accusing the city of improperly destroying the records at the center of the shredding controversy.

Christian said he is seeking the records because he has concerns about the operations of the Springfield Police Department’s street crimes unit. He contends that officers in the unit target individuals and make stops without probable cause.

“The street crimes unit needs to be more monitored,” he said.

Christian said he’s aware that the perception exists that he’s “just a troublemaker,” but he says he hasn’t been seeking all this information just “to stir something up.”

“There is a real cause behind this,” he said. “I think the public definitely needs to know that.”

Dan Petrella can be reached at 788-1532. Follow him at twitter.com/PetrellaReports.

Clarification: A previous version of this story said Ward 7 Ald. Joe McMenamin pushed the reduced towing fee to successful passage.

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